Four years after a popular Los Gatos High senior died in an alcohol-related crash that stunned the tight-knit community, the driver convicted in his death has been arrested again – on suspicion of drunken driving.

Brian Ricks was arrested Jan. 28 in Santa Barbara County – 1 1/2 months before his 21st birthday, when his probation was to end for a manslaughter and drunken driving conviction in 18-year-old Eric Quesada’s death.

News of Ricks’ arrest sent the community reeling.

“I’m not surprised, by any means,” said Kellin Dunne, a passenger along with Quesada when Ricks drove into a telephone pole. “I feel insulted and disappointed by him. He got it easy and he got to go to rehab. He was given every opportunity to succeed. I feel like he was an accident waiting to happen again, which is sad.”

In the aftermath of Quesada’s death, the Los Gatos community rallied to address the issue of drinking and driving and drug use by teenagers by creating drug- and alcohol-free activities for young people in town and helping them deal with other peer pressure issues.

Ricks, a University of California-Santa Barbara student and the son of a Los Gatos cardiologist, allegedly had a blood-alcohol content of 0.26 percent when he crashed his vehicle into a tree at an apartment complex in Isla Vista. The legal limit in California is 0.08 percent.

Ricks, who was extradited to Santa Clara County early this month and is being held at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, has a court hearing April 9 for violation of probation. He faces possible probation, rehabilitation, county jail or the youth prison system, according to his attorney.

“Brian understands he’s violated probation and is very remorseful about that,” San Jose attorney Eric Geffon said Thursday. “He’s not looking to prolong this any longer than it has to be. Brian realizes that he’s got a drinking problem and did not have it as under control as he thought.”

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Soares said confidentiality laws prevent him from releasing details on the case.

Quesada’s family declined to comment on Ricks’ arrest.

Ricks was 16 on Nov. 26, 2002, when he crashed a Chevrolet Tahoe into a telephone pole on Hicks Road after leaving a party police had broken up. Three high school students were in the vehicle with Ricks that night. One of them, Quesada, a high school senior at the time, was killed and Dunne injured. A third passenger was uninjured.

Dunne, who is now 20 and a student at the University of San Diego, still suffers from injuries related to the crash.

Ricks pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to one year in juvenile hall and 18 months at a rehabilitation camp. The Mercury News did not name Ricks at the time because he was a juvenile. He was on probation until he turned 21 on March 15.

In the Santa Barbara crash, Ricks allegedly nearly hit a patrol car while trying to extricate his vehicle from the tree. University police arrested him and charged him with driving under the influence.

Ricks was released from the Santa Barbara County jail, apparently without having informed police he was on probation.

Word of the arrest spread to Los Gatos and then to the Santa Clara County probation department, resulting in Ricks’ extradition.

“It’s sad for him as a person and his family. It’s sad for those of us who were hoping that the young man would learn something. It’s sad because that’s what alcohol does. It’s an addiction,” said L.D. Hirschklau, a projects director at Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District.

Sandra Gonzales is the deputy metro editor at the Mercury News, overseeing local news coverage. Previously, she was night city editor and has spent most of her journalism career as a reporter, covering a wide-range of beats: education, city government, courts and crime.

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